This book analyses examples of quality teaching in professional education in the human client fields. The first of two volumes, the editors and contributors use case studies to illustrate the elements deemed good practice within professional education. There are many different routes towards preparing well-qualified professionals through higher education: as diverse as the professions themselves, these routes are largely determined by decisions academics make regarding content, curriculum alignment, integration of research with practice and pedagogical techniques. Including case studies from midwifery, medical, nursing and psychology degree programmes, the authors and editors unravel what good teaching in professional practice looks like in the human client fields, and how it can be achieved. This rigorous and comprehensive collection will be of interest and value to students and scholars of professional pedagogy, as well as practitioners.

This book examines quality teaching in professional education in the fields of engineering and international knowledge structures. The second of a two-volume series, the editors and contributors structure the book around case studies which highlight the elements constituting good practice within professional education. While there is no one specific route to prepare well-qualified professionals, this volume explores the decisions the academics responsible for delivering this education make to ensure quality curricula. Ultimately, the key to effective preparations rests with the value employers place on the focus, emphasis and balance between the academic and practical in relation to their own expectations for skills that graduates must have. The second volume in this collection will appeal to students and scholars of professional pedagogy, and engineering pedagogy more specifically.

Online distance education continues to grow at a fast pace, even outpacing the overall growth of U.S. higher education. Demands for quality are coming from all shareholders involved. As if caught by surprise, a patchwork response to quality is often the typical organizational response. The result can be inconsistent and uncoordinated levels of value to those invested in online learning. This often promotes negative images of the educational experience and institution.Comprised of highly regarded experts in the field, this edited volume provides a comprehensive overview of quality assurance, a snapshot of current practices and proven recommendations for raising standards of quality in online education.Topics discussed include:* Improving practices for teaching online* Using educational analytics for quality assurance and improvement* Accessibility: An important dimension of quality assurance* Assuring quality in online course design* Assuring quality in learner support, academic resources, advising and counseling* The role and realities of accreditationThis text clearly answers the call for addressing quality from a broad, deep and coordinated understanding. It addresses the complexities of quality assurance in higher education and offers professionals top-shelf advice and support. *This text is also appropriate for students enrolled in Educational Technology and Higher Education Administration Masters and PhD programs

Many countries now employ national evaluation systems to demonstrate publicly that universities provide a quality education. However, the current processes of quality evaluation are often detached from the practices of teaching and learning. In particular, those who teach and those who learn still have to be won over to such audit processes.This book argues that it is time for the higher education sector to concern itself with the human dimension so as to develop both academic professionalism and students’ commitment to their learning. Based on five completed research projects, which explore academics’ and students’ experiences and their views of quality evaluation, the book argues that developing the intrinsic values of teaching and learning held by academics and students is key to achieving high quality education.In this book, the author critically reviews the four most frequently used terms related to current quality evaluation: ‘fitness for purpose’, ‘value for money’, ‘student satisfaction’ and ‘students-as-customers’, and argues for a motivationally intelligent quality approach, emphasising the moral dimension and the intrinsic values of academics and students. The author also outlines an improved quality evaluation system that encourages and increases academics’ and students’ commitment to teaching and learning.

This volume takes a holistic view of the current trends and challenges in quality and quality assurance in TESOL and teacher education. Bringing together top scholars in the field from all over the world, the text features invaluable international perspectives with the common objective of improving the quality in TESOL and teacher education in constantly changing and challenging educational contexts globally. Grouped into four wide-ranging, thematic sections – on multilingualism, diversity, teacher education, and future challenges – the book addresses new obstacles faced by educational professionals in today’s rapidly changing educational landscape by offering alternatives to quantitative targets. Chapter authors cover a range of contexts and timely issues, including technology in the classroom, culturally relevant teaching, teaching for continuous improvement, professional development, and monitoring and evaluating quality. Providing a forum of discussion on the intricacies, complexities, and challenges related to the urgent question of quality in the field, this book is a must-read for prospective ESL/EFL teachers and teacher educators.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.